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Wednesday, 18 April 2012

Woman arrested as houseboy dies of neglect

(eagleonline.com)
Two housewives are in police custody over the death of a school boy.
The suspects, Comfort Peters, 50, and Victoria Nwaju, 31, were arrested by the police last week following the death of Master Akaniyene Effiong, 11, who allegedly died as a result of negligence by the two women.
Peters brought Effiong from his village in Akwa Ibom State to assist her in her house at Ajegunle in 2010.
The lad was 10-years-old then.
But sadly on February 10 this year, Effiong allegedly left Peter’s house to an undisclosed location.
He was found dead two month after in circumstances that still remain mysterious.

Peters, in a statement to the police, said she had looked everywhere for Effiong after he left her house to no avail and was shocked that Nwaju had been harbouring him for the two months he had been missing.
She said: “On January 7th 2010, I brought the boy from my village to live with me.
"I later enrolled him at the Oremeji Primary School at Ajegunle.
"On February 10th 2012, I came back home from a journey and discovered that Akaniyene was not at home but his school uniform was in the kitchen.
"My brother who was at home then told me he saw him when he came back from school.
"We made frantic efforts to look for him and I went to the welfare homes at Ikotun and Alakara to look for him but we did not see him.”
Nwaju stated that she saw Effiong wandering at the Cemetery Market at Ajegunle and decided to take him into her custody.
Nwaju said: “Sometimes last month, I cannot remember the date, I came to my stand (stall) at the Cemetery Market about 6am and I saw this boy lying under my table sleeping.
"I was scared. I thought it was a goat but when I later saw it was a boy, I brought him out and as I was about to ask him any question, he ran away.
"Some weeks later, I saw him playing in the market and I made efforts to call him but he ran away again.
"On one market day, I saw people gathered and I went to see what was happening.
"That was when I discovered that it was the same boy that slept under my table.
"He had a big cut on his fore head he sustained while playing and blood was gushing out.
"I was moved with pity as I have a boy his age at home so I told the people gathered that I know him and I took him to my house, I bathed him, gave him food to eat and later took him to the hospital.”
Nwaju said he took Akaniyene to the hospital where his wound was treated but three days later the injury became more severe.
“The doctor said the wound has been infected by a tetanus and on April 7th after he was rushed to another hospital, the Tolu Medical Centre at Ajegunle, he gave up the ghost,” Nwaju said.
The case was reported at the Layeni Police Station at Ajegunle and police investigation led to the arrest of the two women for negligence in the death of the lad.
A police officer who requested anonymity, said the two women will be charged for negligence leading to death.
The police officer said: “When the boy left home, his guardian should have reported his disappearance to the police and when the other woman picked him up from the street, she too should have reported the case to the police.
"That way, the matter would have been officially documented and they would not be in this mess now because it is lack of care for this boy that led to his untimely death.”